The Color of Pomegranates (1969) by Sergei Parajanov
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SAYAT NOVA (Նռան գույնը, Цвет граната, Սայաթ-Նովա)
“Probably, besides the cinematic language suggested by Griffith and Eisenstein, the world cinema hasn’t discovered anything revolutionary new until Parajanov’s The Color of Pomegranates.”
— MIKHAIL VARTANOV (1969)
One of the greatest masterpieces of cinema, Sergei Parajanov‘s The Color of Pomegranates, inventively reveals the life of the 18th century Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova (King of Song) through his poetry and his inner world instead of a conventional narrative. We see the poet grow up, fall in love, enter a monastery and die, but these events are depicted through images of how Paradjanov’s imagination perceived Sayat Nova’s poems, poems that are seen and rarely heard. Void of dialogue and camera movement this is indeed a revolutionary work of the seventh art.
The star of the film Sofiko Chiaureli plays 5 roles, both male and female, including Sayat Nova and his beloved Princess Anna. Parajanov writes, directs, choreographs, works on costumes, design, decor and nearly everything else, as depicted in Mikhail Vartanov‘s two documentaries, The Color of Armenian Land (1969), filmed during the making of The Color of Pomegranates, and Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992), in which he tells us what he had witnessed: “Parajanov dominated the location. He even took over other’s loads. He had to adjust, trim and touch every single item on the set. Only he held the ultimate knowledge. He did not elucidate. Follow his direction and that’s enough.” — Mikhail Vartanov
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute worked with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation on the restoration of The Color of Pomegranates after a chance meeting during Busan International Film Festival’s Parajanov & Vartanov film retrospective. The restored Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova) world premiered at the 67th Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) in France. It was then unveiled in Italy with Vartanov’s Parajanov: The Last Spring at the 28th Il Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival in Bologna where it was introduced by Olivia Harrison, the widow of The Beatles guitarist George Harrison whose foundation funded the restoration.
Martin Scorsese introduced the North American premiere of the restored Colour of Pomegranates at 39th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Martiros M. Vartanov, who worked on the restoration with L’Immagine Ritrovata, introduced the US-premiere in Hollywood at The Academy at LACMA series, together with his first film, entitled The Last Film, dedicated to Parajanov & Vartanov. He later also made The Resurrection of Sayat Nova, a film about The Color of Pomegranates restoration.
The restored Color of Pomegranates had its East Coast premiere at the 52nd New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center where Martin Scorsese accepted the Parajanov-Vartanov Institute Award for championing the restoration of the masterpiece. This was followed by the highly anticipated Criterion Collection release of The Color of Pomegranates with The Color of Armenian Land on Blu-ray/DVD, as well as their streaming premieres on the Criterion Channel.
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute 
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